Several days later, Sadie collapsed backwards onto James's bed with a groan, her head hanging off of the edge. James, Sirius, and Remus were crowded around Sirius's bed where a piece of parchment rested in the middle. It was nearing 1:00 in the morning, and Peter was snoring softly on the floor a few feet away from them. They had been trying to work on Sirius's map idea for hours now. The boys' tempers were starting to flare, and Sadie could feel herself approaching that point as well.

"This is getting us nowhere," she grumbled. "I think it's time to put it away and work on it again another time."

The boys hesitated for a moment before nodding wearily. Sirius folded up the parchment and slipped in into his nightstand drawer, yawning widely as he did so.

James curled up next to Sadie. "I'll bet we'll be better able to work on it tomorrow."

"Right..." Sadie looked rather sheepish. "You guys are totally more than welcome to do that, but...it's Hogsmeade tomorrow, and...I've got that date with Gideon..."

Sirius accidentally knocked over an empty goblet that was sitting on his nightstand, but he recovered quickly. "That's right!" He cleared his throat and avoided looking at her. "I forgot about that. Don't worry about it. We'll work on the map, you just go have a good time."

Sadie beamed at him and kissed his cheek on her way out the door. "You guys are the best! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Remus and James turned to look at Sirius as soon as she had left. He scowled at them.

"I don't want to talk about it." And with that, he climbed into bed and yanked the curtains shut, effectively stopping any attempts to talk to him.

Sadie awoke with butterflies in her stomach the next morning. A glance at the clock told her that it was just past five in the morning. She groaned and mentally scolded herself for staying up so late the night before her date. With a sigh, she crawled out of bed and began quietly tending to the many plants on her nightstands and around her section of the dormitory. By the time she was finished, her nerves had calmed significantly. That is, until she started rummaging through her clothes to try and decide what to wear.

After several minutes of this, she let out a frustrated sigh and crept over to where Lily was still slumbering peacefully. The redhead was an incredibly light sleeper, so it took only the slightest of nudges to wake her up.

"Sadie?" She groaned, squinting against the light coming in from the window. "What time is it?"

"About 6:30..." Sadie answered apologetically. "But I really need your help."

Lily yawned and sat up reluctantly. "Alright...what do you need?"

"I have no idea what to wear to Hogsmeade today..." Sadie bit her lip sheepishly.

Lily stared at her. "You woke me up for that? Aren't you just hanging out with the boys like usual?" Then, her eyes widened. "Wait a minute! You do fancy Sirius, don't you?!"

Sadie glared at her. "No! Godric, why did I ever tell you about that?!"

Lily raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Well then why do you care about looking nice for Hogsmeade?"

"Because I'm not going with the boys!" Sadie hissed in response. "I'm going with Gideon!"

"You're WHAT?!" Lily yelled, causing the other girls to jolt awake. Alice leapt out of bed and grabbed her wand.

"What's going on?!"

Lily was still staring at Sadie. "And you didn't think to mention this earlier?!" She turned to look around at the other girls. "Sadie is going out with Prewett today!"

In an instant, Sadie was surrounded and being bombarded with questions from all sides. She laughed and held her hands up, face bright red. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Marlene smacked Sadie lightly on the forehead. "The guy you've been head-over-heels for since first year finally asks you out, and you 'don't want to make a big deal out of it?' Come on, Sadie!"

"Oh, I just knew there was something different about the way he was looking at you this year," Mary sighed wistfully. "It's like he just wants to whisk you away and-"

"And have his way with you until you both pass out from exhaustion," Marlene grinned wickedly, causing Sadie to flush a deep shade of red as the other girls laughed.

"How did he ask you?" Lily asked eagerly.

Sadie shrugged. "Just after Quidditch practice last week."

"Last week," Alice snorted. "I can't believe you've kept it bottled up for an entire week."

"Well, I didn't keep it completely bottled up!" Sadie defended herself. "James and Sirius knew! They were there when he asked me!"

Lily coughed awkwardly as the other girls exchanged glances. "Oh? And how did that go?"

"Really well, actually!" Sadie responded happily. "In fact, I had plans with them already, so I was about to tell him I couldn't, but then Sirius jumped in to say that it wasn't that important and that I should go."

There was a shocked silence that made Sadie look around at her friends in confusion.

"Sirius...Sirius did?" Alice questioned after a moment.

"Yeah..." Sadie answered uncertainly. "Why?

Alice opened her mouth to respond, but Lily silenced her with a look. "Just surprised he was okay with it given how he feels about...Prewett," she said hastily. "Anyway, enough about that, you need to get ready!"

The girls leapt into action. Lily grabbed a set of matching vanilla-scented shampoo, body wash, lotion, and perfume and ushered Sadie into the bathroom. Alice dug through Sadie's clothes until she found a pair of white pants and a sheer peach blouse with a white lacy tank top to go underneath. She opened the bathroom door just enough to slip them inside for Sadie to put on when she got out of the shower. As soon as Sadie stepped out, Mary whisked her into a chair and began working on her hair while Marlene did her makeup.

Sadie was by no means unattractive on a normal day, but she was far from drop-dead gorgeous like Lily and Marlene. Standing at 5"2', she gave off much more of a 'cute' vibe than anything else with her signature short braids or pigtails, a small spattering of freckles across her nose, and a single dimple on her left cheek. By the time her friends were done with her, however, she rather thought that she might actually describe herself as 'pretty' before 'cute.' Her dirty-blonde hair fell in straight layers until it barely brushed the tops of her shoulders. She wasn't sure how Marlene had done it, but her hazel eyes seemed to sparkle even more than usual, and her cheekbones and jawline looked sharp and defined, giving her a much more mature appearance than her soft features and round face shape normally allowed. Lily wolf-whistled at her.

"Prewett isn't going to know what hit him," she winked. Sadie flushed and gave a shy smile as her friends ushered her out of the room, excited grins on their faces. She took a deep breath before walking hesitantly down to the common room.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter were gathered around a small table by the window when she entered. Sirius glanced at her and then looked away for a moment before whipping his gaze back to her. His eyes widened slightly, and his mouth hung open for a moment before he quickly composed himself.

Sadie gave them a little wave as she breezed past them and to the portrait hole where Gideon stood waiting for her. He was looking her up and down appreciatively. Sirius caught a whiff of her perfume as she passed them, and he scowled.

"You look stunning," Gideon told her sincerely. "Are you ready?"

Sadie nodded with a shy smile. Gideon grinned and took her hand, helping her through the portrait hole.

"She smells wrong," Sirius told Remus and Peter as soon as they were gone. Remus raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"I thought she smelled great! Like vanilla or something."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, sure, she smelled good. But she didn't smell like her."

Remus coughed lightly to cover up his laughter. "Oh yeah? What is she supposed to smell like?"

"Well, on her own, she smells like...earth. Probably because she spends so much time in the greenhouses and with her plants. She almost smells like the ground after it's been raining. That's always there, and then if she wears perfume that day, then it just adds a nice extra layer to it rather than covering it up. She likes fruity smells. Raspberry is her favorite. She's always thought that vanilla smells too sweet, so she never wears it."

Remus was staring at him pityingly. He shook his head. "You're a hopeless cause, Mate."

Meanwhile, Sadie was pleasantly surprised to find that Gideon was quite easy to talk to. The two of them conversed comfortably as they walked out of the castle and toward Hogsmeade. It wasn't long before they found themselves seated at a cozy little booth at the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta approached their table and gave them a friendly smile.

"What can I get for you kids?"

Gideon returned her smile. "A butterbeer for me, a cherry soda for Sadie, and two sweet rolls, please."

"Coming your way!" The innkeeper winked and walked away. Gideon leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table.

"So, I know you really like that old muggle poet...what's his name again?"

"William Shakespeare?" Sadie raised her eyebrows curiously. Sirius had discovered the muggle playwright back in their third year and had begun reading his works as a way to further infuriate his parents. He had shared his readings with Sadie, and it wasn't long before they had both developed a genuine fondness for the writer.

Gideon snapped his fingers. "That's the one! Well, I wrote you a poem." His eyes were twinkling mischievously.

"Oh?" Sadie laughed. Madam Rosmerta set their food and drinks down in front of them, and Sadie took a sip of her soda with a happy hum as the sweet syrup hit her taste buds. "Do tell." Gideon cleared his throat dramatically.

"Sadie Mae Potter

I like her a lot-er

Fabian says that it's more than I ought-er

He says that I don't have a chance, cause she's hotter

Than I'll ever be, why she's cute as an otter!

He's right, and that's why I'm so glad that I got 'er

To come on this date with me, sweet Fleaument's daughter!"

Sadie burst into a fit of giggles, feeling her cheeks heat up as she applauded enthusiastically. "Beautiful!" She laughed. "A true work of art!"

Gideon grinned and winked at her. "Think I could give ol' Willie Shakesmith a run for his money?"

"Oh, for sure!" She leaned forward conspiratorially, giving him a teasing look. "Though you might want to learn to say his name properly first."

He chuckled and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, whatever. Nobody will even care. They'll be too enthralled with my words to notice."

"Oh yes, and if that fails, then you've always got your charm and good looks to fall back on."

"You think I'm good-looking?" Gideon winked.

Sadie flushed. "Well, yeah, sure. You've got that whole red-hair, blue-eyes, chiseled body thing going for you."

Gideon laughed loudly. "That's a thing?"

"Well...no," Sadie shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear shyly. "I was just describing you." Gideon gave her a fond look and hesitantly reached across the table to take her hand in his. Sadie bit her lip, trying and failing to hold back a smile, and they slipped into a comfortable silence, each taking sips of their drinks and digging into their sweet rolls.

"Tell me about your family," Sadie requested after a few minutes.

Gideon thought for a moment. "Well, my dad died when Fabian and I were little." He waved a dismissive hand at Sadie's hurried apology. "It's fine. We don't really remember him. Mum is amazing. She works for the Department of Magical Transportation and has worked her way up high enough to support us on her own. We've got one older sister, Molly. She's married and has two little boys. Bill will be five in November, and Charlie will be three in December." He chuckled. "They're a couple of tornadoes, I tell you. But spending time with them is one of my very favorite things. With Mum having to work so much while we were growing up, the three of us siblings are really close. Molly is a fair bit older than Fabian and myself, and she had a large hand in raising us. She's really almost like a second mum to us."

"That's really sweet," Sadie smiled. "I didn't realize you had nephews! I'm sure they just adore you!"

Gideon grinned. "Yeah, they are fans of their uncles, for sure. Fabian positively dotes on Bill, and the two of them are really close. Charlie and I have a special connection though." He shook his head in amusement. "I've never known a kid to love dragons as much as he does. I went through a bit of a dragon phase myself, so we bond over that."

"Dragons, huh?" Sadie asked excitedly. "I absolutely love dragons! I think it would be incredible to work with them someday!"

"I thought you wanted to be a healer!" Gideon laughed. Sadie grinned sheepishly.

"I do! That's definitely my first choice. But I'd like to do a lot of things eventually. Working with dragons is just one thing on the bucket list."

They continued to chat as they slowly polished off their sweet rolls. Gideon left their payment on the table and stood up, keeping ahold of Sadie's hand and lacing their fingers together. He chuckled lightly at the blush that spread across her face and led her out into the village where they explored the various shops until it was time to head back up to the castle.

Gideon walked her up to the Portrait Hole before stopping and turning to face her. "I've got to go to the library," he told her apologetically. "Fabian and I have got a Potions project that's due on Monday. I had such a good time though. Can we...do it again?"

Sadie nodded with a shy smile. He grinned happily and kissed her lightly on the cheek before bidding her goodbye and walking back towards the library. Sadie bit her lip and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming before she gave the password and walked into the common room.

The second she walked through the Portrait Hole, Mary grabbed her arm and dragged her over to sit in an armchair. Marlene, Lily, and Alice were seated on the sofa, watching her eagerly. The boys also entered the common room just then and, upon spotting Sadie, walked over to join them in front of the fire.

"Alright, we want all of the details!" Lily announced. "How did it go?"

Sadie shrugged casually. "It was good!" The other girls stared at her in disbelief. She laughed. "Okay, so it was really, really good."

"What did you do?" Alice asked eagerly.

"Just your basic Hogsmeade visit," Sadie answered. "Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks and then wandering around the village."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Okay, you girls are terrible at asking questions. Let's get right down to it. Did he kiss you?" James and Sirius stiffened slightly, and Sadie blinked in surprise.

"No! Well, I mean, on the cheek, yes. But that's it." The boys visibly relaxed.

Marlene pouted, but Mary squealed. "Oh he must have so much respect for you! Are you going to go out with him again?"

"It sounds like it." Sadie struggled to hide a giddy smile. The girls cheered loudly, making Sadie roll her eyes, though she couldn't help but laugh at them. Sirius cleared his throat and stood up, placing a hand on her back.

"Sorry to break up the fun, ladies." Sadie's dorm mates exchanged subtle knowing looks at his interruption. "But we've got some important business to attend to with Miss Sadie Mae here, so if you'll excuse us."

Sadie, slightly relieved at her chance to escape from her friends' interrogation, allowed Sirius and the other boys to steer her up the stairs and into their room. As soon as the door was shut behind them, they all turned to look at her with excited looks on their faces.

"We figured it out!" James announced proudly.

Sadie gaped at them. "Are you serious?!" Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand with a wince, at once realizing her mistake. "I know. I know I said it. Don't."

"No, but I am," he whispered with a pout.

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend before turning back to Sadie. "We haven't done it yet, but we figured out how to do it. It's...going to be a bit of a project."

"Wormtail found a mapping spell," James explained. "We'll be able to cast it on an area and then again on the parchment, and it will map itself out. The only problem is that the spell has a pretty limited range."

"We're going to have to cast it several times in various parts of the castle," Peter piped up. "And we'll have to cast the Homunculous Charm after mapping each part."

"The moving staircases are going to be a bit tricky," Sirius added. "But we think we will basically be able to modify the Homunculous Charm for use on inanimate objects."

"Well, we say inanimate..." Remus chuckled. "But you know what we mean."

Sadie was staring around at them in amazement. "Brilliant," she told them sincerely. "You're brilliant, all of you."

James grinned smugly. "Oh, we know. So kind of you to finally notice, Sade."

"I think we should start tonight," Sirius told them firmly. "It's going to take us a while, and I want to be able to figure out what Snivellus and Rowle are up to. I've still got a nasty feeling about it."

The others nodded, and they all sat down to begin plotting their upcoming late-night escapades.

A/N: As always, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! Let me know what you think and if there is anything specific you would like to see in the upcoming chapters!

12esheffield: Thanks so much! I appreciate you!